Road guard fence



y 1939" R. R. ROBERTSON 2,160,519

ROAD GUARD FENCE Filed May 24, 1937 OBERT R. ROBERTSON Patented May 30, 1939 Robert. R- Robertson, Chicago, 1115,. assignonto The Translode Joint Company; ChicagoJ-Ieights, 111., a corporation; of Illinois Application'May 24", 1937;S61'i2tPNO; 144324 10 Claims.

This invention relates to improved highway or road guar fences adapted to be mounted on r the shouldersrof roads at curves or. at dangerous locations along the road. The improved guard on fence is so. constructedthat when moving, vehicles accidentally leave the road pavement and run; into 'the guard fence, the impact shocks are absorbed by the rail unit, thus, afiording'an arrangement whereby the seriousness of" accidents is greatly minimized and sometimes entirely averted; 7

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified form of road guard fence, wherein rail sections are mounted, free from tension, on spaced posts, by means of connecting members connected between the railsections to provide ofiset's to obviate the binding or locking of the wheels of a vehicle against steering, when a car contacts and runs along the guard fence. 7

It is also an object of this invention to provide 'a road guard fence, free from spring mounti'ng mechanisms, and constructed with offsetsat intervals along the length of the rail unit, to

permit the steering wheels of a vehicle striking the fence and running along the length thereof, to be turned at the oifset. portions of the rail units for the purpose of directing the vehicle back onto the road from which the vehicle has accidentally run. 7

Another object of the invention is the construction of a road guard fence wherein a railunit issupported on spaced posts free from tension, and wherein the rail membersare disposed in overlapping relation separated by means of connecting shoes forming offsets throughout the length of the rail unit to obviate the binding of the steering wheels of vehicles which accidentally run off of the road and strike the guard fence.

It is furthermore an object of this invention to provide an improved type of road guard fence wherein the fence posts shiftably support a rail unit wherein the rail members are connected in overlapping relation by means of shoes or housings which are so formed that offsets are provided at intervals in the length of the rail unit, thereby positioning the rail members diagonally with respect to the fence posts and at an angle with respect to the side of a road adjacent whichthe guard fence is mounted.

It isan important object of this invention to provide a road guard fence adapted to be mounted-ronthe shoulder of a road at dangerous loca- L tions, or atcurvesinthe road, said-guard fence with respect to the side of a road adjacent which the fence is mounted, saidf'ence unit'furth'ere morehavingrthe outerv ends of the endrailimembers associated with end fence posts for'completing the road guard fence, which when accidentally struck by amisdirected" vehicle runningroffatuthe side of the road; will' obviate'bind-l ing of" the vehicle, steering wheels. againstthe guard fence rail members and will furthermore direct the vehicle back onto the road,yth'er.eby obviating serious accidents andreducing damage";

Other and further important objects of thi's invention will" be apparent from the disclosures in the specification. andthe accompanyingdrawmg. 2 V

The invention (in a preferred form) is. il1ustratedin the drawing andhereinafter'morefully described.

On the drawing: 7 V

Figure I.,i's.a fragmentary top plan. view'of one end, of' airoadi guard fence embodying the prlirr ciples of this invention.

Figure 2i's a front elevational'view ofthe guard fence shown in Figure 1. g FigureBisan enlarged vertical detail section taken on, line III'III of Figure 2 with the'posts shown in elevation.

Figured is a fragmentary detail verti'calsection, taken on line IV-IV' of Figure. 3: V Figure 5 is. an enlarged fragmentary top planview of'one ofthe'intermediate fence posts and a portion ofthe, rail unit'supported" thereon.

Figurefijis a fragmentary front'elevational view of the post" construction illustrated in Figure 5;

As shown on the drawing:

The improved highway or road guard-fence is mounted on the road shoulder ladjacent the side of a highway or road at a-cur've in the road on ata dangerous location alongthelengthof the road. The guard fence comprises a plurality of spacedi'ntermediate posts 2 constructed of wood orother suita-blematerial; The inter'- mediate posts 2 are locatedin a line conforming to the-shapeof the road; Mounted on theroad shoulder beyond the-lastintermediate-posts 2, are end posts 3, which are also constructed of wood or other suitable material. The end posts 3 may either be mounted in the line of the intermediate post 2 or out of line therewith as illustrated in Figure l farther away from the. side of the road.

Each of the end posts 3 is provided with a vertical slot in the upper portion thereof. Rigidly secured around each end post 3 at the bottom and upper ends of the slot, are metal reinforcing bands or hoops 4. 7

Each of the intermediate posts 2 has projecting therethrough, from front to back, upper and lower mounting and slack take-up bolts 5, the rear ends of which project through a metal washer or plate 6. of the intermediate posts 2 is an apertured front metal plate I through which the mounting bolts 5 also project. The front ends of the supporting bolts 5 project outwardly for a given distance, as clearly illustrated in Figures 3 and 5, and support a rail unit in position free from normal tension.

The front rail unit, is of the offset type, and comprises a plurality of sheet steel bands or strips 8 of a selected shape and width. The rail strips 8 are arranged in spaced overlapping relation and are connected together at the overlapping ends by means of a spacing or connecting shoe or block comprising inclined side walls 9 and which converge outwardly and are integrally connected by means of a front plate ll. The rear margin of the inclined side wall of plate ll) of each 'of the shoes is deflected to provide a flange l2 having a plurality of openings or apertures therethrough, through which rivets [3 are engaged. The rivets 13 extend through openings in the end'margin of the rail strip 8 adjacent the metal plate 1 to rigidly secure the ends of the rail strip 8 to the shoe flange I2. The portion of each of the rail strips 8 covered by the connecting shoe is provided with slots is through which the bolts 5 project. The outer ends of the bolts 5 also project through slots l5 which are provided in a partition or brace plate l6 which extends between the side walls of each of the shoes and is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the walls 9 and I0.

The free edge of the shoe side wall or plate 9 normally seats against the rear rail strip 8, as shown in Figure 5. Adjustment of the bolts 5 causes the free edges of the shoe walls 9 to press against the rail strips 8 to deflect the same to take up slack in said strips when necessary. Rigidly secured to the front plate ll of each of the separating shoes, by means of rivets I! or other suitable means, is the front end of another of said rail strips 8. It will thus be seen that the two overlapping ends of adjacent rail strips 8 are secured to the back and front of a separating shoe to hold the overlapping ends of the rail strips in offset relation, with the inclined side wall 9 of the separating shoe acting as a release wall whereby a steering wheel of a vehicle, which runs along a rail strip 8, when passing an inclined shoe wall 9 is released to permit the wheels to be steered outwardly away from the fence back onto the highway.

It will be noted that by offsetting the overlapping ends of the rail strips 8, by means of the separating shoes, that the rail strips 8 are mounted to the front of the intermediate posts 2 in substantially parallel relation to one another and inclined with respect to the side edge of the road adjacent the fence.

Mounted against the front of each 7 The outer end I8 of each of the endmost fence rail strips 8 is disposed to slidably project through the slot in one of the end posts 3, as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, between the reinforcing bands 4.

It will thus be noted that the improved road guard fence is provided with a rail unit which is mountedfree from normal tension in a manner to permit longitudinal shifting of the rail unit with respect to the posts, to compensate for the expansion or the contraction of the metal rail members due to temperature changes. The guard fence is of the cushioning or shock absorbing type for reducing the seriousness of accidents and in some cases obviating accidents which would ordinarily take place if a solid or non-cushioning type of fence were contacted by a vehicle which is misdirected or accidentally driven off of the road into the fence. In case a vehicle should accidentally be directed off of the side of a road and runs into one of the guard fence strips 8, the strip is deflected to partially absorb the impact shock and acts to rebound to lessen the shock to the vehicle. When a rail strip is deflected by a vehicle, the separating shoes between which the rail strip 8 is connected will shift slightly on the supporting bolts 5 and will be permitted to rock slightly, as indicated by the dotted lines of Figure 5 or tilt in a direction opposite from the dot ted line position depending upon the location of the respective separating shoes with respect to the contacting vehicle. The improved fence furthermore acts as a means for guiding the misdirected vehicle back onto the road and also obviates the binding of the vehicle steering wheel against the side of a fence due to the offset relationship of the guard rail members 8 where the overlapping ends of said rail members are mounted at the back and on the front of the separating shoes supported on the intermediate fence posts. The slots M in the rail members 8 and the slots IS in the partition plates !5 of the connecting shoes permit the longitudinal shifting of the rail unit. When the rail members are shifted transversely of the posts, the rail members 8 have sliding contact with the metal separating plates 1 which protect the posts.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A road guard fence comprising a plurality of spaced posts, a plurality of resilient rail members arranged in spaced parallel overlapping relation, connecting shoes disposed between and having diagonal corners thereof secured to the overlapping ends of the rail members to hold the rail members offset with respect to one another, and supporting means on the posts for the ends of the rail members nearest the posts and the connecting shoes.

2. A road guard fence comprising a plurality of spaced supporting posts, a plurality of resilient railmembers, means shiftable with respect to said posts and connected between the rail members to hold the same in offset relation with respect to one another, and supports carried by the posts and engaging the ends of the rail members nearest the posts and said means permitting longitudinal shifting movement of the rail members and said means when shocks are applied to the rail members or when the rail members are affected by temperature changes.

3. A road guard fence comprising a plurality of spaced posts, a plurality of rail members positioned in front of the posts, separators having diagonal corners thereof connected between the ends of the rail members to hold the rail members positioned diagonally in front of the posts, and means movably supporting the rail members and the separators on the posts.

4. A road guard fence comprising a plurality of posts and slotted rail members, a plurality of slotted separating shoes connected between the ends of the rail members to hold the rail members in offset diagonal relation with respect to the plane of the fence, and supporting bolts on said posts projecting through the slots in the rail members adjacent the posts and in the separating shoes.

5. A road guard fence comprising spaced posts, guard rails disposed diagonally in front of the posts and having slots therein, said guard rails positioned in spaced overlapping relation with respect to one another, connecting shoes disposed between the overlapping ends of the guard rails and secured thereto, said connecting shoes-having. slots therein, apertured metal plates on the front and back ofsaid posts, supporting bolts projecting through the posts and through the metal plates thereon with the forward ends of said bolts projecting through the slots in said guard rails adjacent the plates on the front of the posts and in said connecting shoes.

6. A road guard fence comprising spaced posts, guard rails disposed diagonally in front of the posts and having slots therein, said guard rails positioned in spaced overlapping relation with respect to one another, connecting shoes disposed between the overlapping ends of the guard rails and secured thereto, said connecting shoes having slots therein, apertured metal plates on the front and back of said posts, supporting bolts projecting through the posts and through the metal plates thereon with the forward ends of said bolts projecting through the slots in the ends of said guard rails adjacent the front metal plates and in said connecting shoes, and end posts supporting the outermost ends of the end guard rails.

7. A road guard fence comprising a plurality of spaced posts, supporting members projecting therefrom, and a rail unit shiftable on said supporting members, said rail unit comprising a plurality of slotted rail members arranged in overlapping relation in front of the posts, and slotted spacing shoes connected between the overlapping ends of the rail members for holding the overlapping ends of the rail members oifset with respect to one another and positioning the rail members diagonally with respect to the plane of the fence.

8. A road guard fence comprising a plurality of spaced posts, supporting members thereon, separating shoes shiftable on the supporting members, and a plurality of resilient rail members having one end thereof secured to the back of a separating shoe on one post and having the other end thereof secured to the front of a separating shoe on the next post.

9. A road guard fence comprising a plurality of spaced posts, supporting members projecting therefrom, slotted shoes engaged on the supporting members, and a plurality of resilient rail members diagonally connected between the shoes with one end of each of said rail members connected to the back of a shoe on onepost and the other end of each rail member connected to the front of a shoe on an adjacent post for the transmission of shocks from one rail member to another through the shoes. V

10. A road guard fence comprising a plurality of spaced posts, a plurality of slotted resilient rail members positioned in overlapping diagonal relation in front of the posts, slotted connecting shoes disposed between the overlapping ends of the rail members and secured thereto, and means on the posts projecting through the slots in the rail members nearest the posts and the shoes for supporting the rail members and the shoes on the posts and permitting longitudinal shifting movement of the rail members and the shoes with respect to the posts when forces are applied to the rail members or when the rail members and shoes expand or contract due to temperature changes.

ROBERT R. ROBERTSON. 

